BERLIN, March 31 Reuters German import prices in February registered their smallest increase in two years as energy prices eased.

February import prices were up 2.8 year on year, the statistics office said on Friday. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a 4.2 increase.

December and January39;s import prices had risen by 12.6 and 6.6 respectively and February39;s increase was the smallest since the same month in 2021.

The yearonyear increase in February was mainly because of high prices for consumer and capital goods, while import prices for energy decreased by 8.1, the statistics office said.

The war in Ukraine led to import prices rising by an average of 26.3 in 2022, the highest growth since the 1974 oil crisis. Since September, however, inflationary pressure has eased somewhat.

Compared with the previous month, import prices fell in February by 2.4 for their sixth consecutive decline. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a monthly decline of 1.

Since the German economy sources many intermediate products and raw materials from abroad, falling import prices have a delayed impact on general inflation.

German consumer prices, harmonised to compare with other European Union countries, rose by an annual 7.8 in March, the lowest rate since April 2022.

The statistics office offers more detailed economic data for import prices on its website.

Reporting by Maria Martinez, Rene Wagner and Matthias Williams Editing by Rachel More and David Goodman

Source Reuters